MORE NEWS, 5-22 (VOLT, @ $32,500, HITS AFFORDABLE PRICE; IS NUCLEAR A RENEWABLE?; VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS TRADING EXPANDS)

VOLT, @ $32,500, HITS AFFORDABLE PRICE
GM's Lutz discloses to Letterman: Chevy Volt electric car will cost about $32,500
May 21, 2009 (USA Today)

"The much-anticipated Chevy Volt, the little electric car that's about the only good news coming out of America's largest automaker these days, will sell for about $32,500 after government rebates, retiring GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz disclosed…on CBS' Late Night with David Letterman.

"The $7,500 rebate would slash a window sticker price anticipated at about $40,000, he said. The car is on track to debut late next year, but Lutz says it won't show up in any real numbers in showrooms until 2011. The U.S.-built Volt is being designed to meet all worldwide standards with the hope that it can be exported to markets around the globe…"

Lutz with Letterman (and unnamed girl), announcing the affordable pricetag. (click to enlarge)

"…Lutz explain[ed] GM past electric-car miscues…Letterman explained why Lutz was invited. Letterman said that the invitation was extended after he hosted Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, maker of rival electric cars, on the show and took some swipes at GM and Volt recently. In particular, Letterman said he knocked Volt for its 40-mile electric only range without noting it has an auxiliary gas engine, compared to the 200-mile range of the Tesla roadster, which has no extra powerplant. He wondered why GM built the Saturn EV1 electric car in the 1990s, then abandoned the project."

Volt will save money in other ways, too. (click to enlarge)

"Lutz said battery technology was still too primitive when the EV1 was developed. The twin-seater was costing GM probably $100,000 a copy and could only be leased because of limited demand. There was no demand for an electric car because gas was then, and still is, so cheap. After $1 billion in losses, he said, GM called it quits. Noting the 35.5 mile per gallon fleet average that automakers must hit under the Obama administration plans unveiled this week, Lutz said as long as gas is cheap, Americans will want big, powerful vehicles. He compared to the policy to trying to fight obesity by having the government require that clothing only be made in small sizes…

"Of course, he took a shot back at Tesla. Volt's price will be less than half the tab for a $100,000 Tesla roadster. It will have [an] advanced battery instead of the 6,831 laptop cells at the heart of the Tesla's powerplant. And it will have four seats instead of two. But he did apologize for the way Detroit operated in the 1970s and 1980s…"


IS NUCLEAR A RENEWABLE?
Is Nuclear Power Renewable Energy?
Keith Johnson, May 21, 2009 (Wall Street Journal)

"… Republicans have tried—and failed—several times [during the debate over the Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill and its provisions for a national renewable-energy mandate] to pass amendments that would christen nuclear power as a “low-emissions” power source eligible for all the same government incentives and mandates as wind power and solar power…[T]he spat raises a very important question: Is Washington trying to promote cleaner energy in general, or just certain types of energy?

"Nuclear-power proponents are puzzled by what seems a logical inconsistency on part of Democrats who consistently shoot down the proposals. If the goal is to promote low-emissions power sources, then nuclear power should be part of the mix. If the goal is to promote new power sources, then existing wind and solar power facilities shouldn’t be showered with federal goodies. That is, states that already have loads of wind power would be half-way to meeting new renewable-energy targets without building any new clean energy."

Can it be a renewable fuel if it comes from a mine? What if the mines are hard to find? Not domestic? (click to enlarge)

"Even neutral observers, such as MIT, [criticized] nuclear power’s exclusion from nearly all state and the proposed federal renewable-energy standards.

"One big argument against including nukes in the renewable bag: Uranium is not a renewable resource, unlike the fuel that powers wind farms and solar installations."

Not that it matters to the hardliners, but nuclear comes with a few other problems that - unlike the New Energies - are getting worse, not better. (click to enlarge)

"But many of the other arguments against including nuclear power hinge on issues unrelated to its renewable nature. The Center for American Progress, for instance, says including nuclear power in renewable-energy standards would be a mockery. That’s because importing more uranium would worsen energy dependence, and because radioactive nuclear waste is a pollutant. Both may be true; neither is germane.

"There are reasons enough to be skeptical about the future of nuclear power, from the death of Yucca Mountain to lingering concerns about its cost…[But if the mandate] is meant to be about producing electricity with fewer emissions of greenhouse-gases, it seems odd that nuclear power wouldn’t be under consideration."


VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS TRADING EXPANDS
APX Announces Complete Asset and Risk Management Services for Environmental Markets; APX Environmental Management Account™ Delivers Essential Portfolio Services
Renier Musier, May 19, 2009 (APX)

"APX Inc., the leading infrastructure provider for environmental and energy markets… announced its new flagship business services offering, the APX Environmental Management Account™, which is a complete suite of solutions for environmental asset and risk management in the new carbon economy. From providing the tools to manage an asset acquisition strategy, to conducting transactions and monitoring results, to creating environmental credits that monetize environmental benefits, the APX Environmental Management Account provides market participants with essential business services to manage risk in carbon and renewable energy markets…"

click to enlarge

"The APX Environmental Management Account provides a single view across a company's entire multi-registry portfolio of environmental credits and allowances, a trusted source for global carbon project information, and comprehensive tracking of related forward transactions. It also includes essential business services…"

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"With more than 2 billion certificates under management and 1300 global firms as account holders, APX market infrastructure sets the standard for ensuring integrity and transparency in environmental markets…The new service offerings will be phased in over time, with forward market and contract management services expected to be available in Q3 2009…and portfolio management and transaction services expected in Q4…"